How do I know which equipment are within the scope of the directive?

Within the scope of the directive are equipment which, to operate correctly, need electrical current or an electromagnetic field or which are intended for generating, transferring or measuring such current or field and which are designed for use at a maximum voltage of 1,000 V in alternating current or at a maximum voltage of 1,500 V in direct current. Appendix 1 to the Government Decree 852/2004 (in Finnish | pdf 89 kb) shows an example list of equipment belonging within the scope of the directive.

How do I know whether our company must fill in the quarterly reports?

All producers that place EE-equipment on the Finnish market must fill in the quarterly reports. If your company, during a reporting period, has not placed any products on the market, the report must be filled in with zero figures.

Where can I fill in the quarterly reports?

The product reports are filled in the electronic reporting system at Elker Ltd's web site. A link to the system can be found on the Reporting page.

A reminder of a missing quarterly report was e-mailed to me, but I think I have filled in the report. How can I check this?

You will receive an e-mail confirmation about a report successfully delivered to Elker Ltd. It is recommendable to check these confirmation e-mails to see that the confirmation applies to the period covered by the reminder. Also, from the report menu of the reporting system you can check reports filled in by you. If it appears that you have filled in all reports appropriately, kindly contact Elker to check whether your reports have arrived succesfully.

How often are the products reported?

The companies with SELT Association, ICT Producer Co-operative and FLIP Association fill in the product reports every three months. The reports are to be filled in by the last day of the month following the reporting period. The report of the last quarter of the year must be filled in by the 15th of January next year. The members of FLIP Association report their equipment through a separate system once a month.

Are exported products reported?

The product reports are to include only products which are placed on the Finnish market. The reports and recycling fees collected are country-specific, and the principle is that the fees are paid in the country of the recycling system where the product is returned when it is discarded.

How can a company that has exported electrical or electronic equipment apply for export compensation?

If a company has exported products of a member company of Elker Group's producer organisation, products that the member company in question has reported to the producer organisation of the Elker Group on its product reports, the company that has exported the products is entitled to apply for export compensation from the producer organisation, for recycling fees the company has paid in Finland for equipment suitable for household use (B2C). For the producer organisations of the Elker Group, the export compensation is a voluntary system and the processing costs of the export compensation are deducted from the applied amount of export compensation. It is therefore not viable to apply for export compensation for small exported amounts. Export compensation is applied from the producer organisation whose products have been exported (SELT: WEEE 1, 2, 5 Lighting equipment, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, ICT: 3 and 4, FLIP: 5 Lamps). Producer organisations have different practices with regard to the export compensation, so more detailed information should be checked with Elker Ltd.

How are the products which are exported to Åland reported?

Producer liability entered into force in Åland on 1 January 2007. As from that date the products exported to Åland are to be reported to the producer organisation, and recycling fees for B2C are to be paid for the products. Products exported to Åland are to be included in the quarterly product reports.

Must we report retrospectively, even though we submitted reports to the Pirkanmaa ELY-Centre before we joined the producer organisation?

Yes. The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Pirkanmaa only charges the reporting fee from the reporting businesses, pursuant to the Decree on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State, so no recycling fees have been paid as year for the consumer products in question.

Must we submit the yearly follow-up information of WEEE to the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Pirkanmaa as well as to the producer organisation?

As a member of the producer organisation you only need to report to the producer organisation. The producer organisation submits the WEEE follow-up information on behalf of its members to the authorities based on the report data received from the producer members. Based on the data gathered with the reporting, the producer organisations collect the data from the previous year for the supervising authority, Pirkanmaa ELY-Centre. Thus the member organisations of the producer organisations need not report separately to the authority.

5. The WEEE collected is mainly recycled in Finland, according to strict safety regulations and processes.

6. Elker is part of a European-wide joint venture network that enables the producers to settle the WEEE and battery & accumulator requirements and take care of the responsibilities also in Norway and Switzerland, in addition to most of the EU countries.